Mark 1 Lancer Assault Rifle
The Mark 1 Lancer Assault Rifle, dubbed the 'Retro Lancer'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4LmtyMabao pause at 1:18 during the Lambent Invasion, was the preceding model to the Mk 2 Lancer Assault Rifle. However, following the Sinking of Jacinto when supplies started becoming sparse, the Retro Lancer started cropping up in fighting forces once again. They have even been used by the Savage Locust as primary weapons, and to build Multi-Turret. History The original Lancer assault rifle was utilized as the standard-issue assault rifle by Coalition of Ordered Governments forces, introduced in the later years of the Pendulum Wars. Known for its reliability, the Mk 1 Lancer was used by COG armed forces even past Emergence Day. However, a year following Emergence Day, COG soldiers found the Lancer that served them faithfully for so many years was now obsolete against the Locust Horde. The tough skin of the Locust often deflected the bayonet and the Locusts' preference for close-quarters combat magnified the problem. The ineffective knife bayonet combined with the Lancer's low rate of fire led to the need to redesign the Lancer assault rifle. Inspired by COG Gear Tai Kaliso improvised use of a chainsaw to kill a Locust soldier, Marcus Michael Fenix discussed the idea with his father, Professor Adam Jonathon Fenix. Soonafter, the Lancer Mark 2 was developed, incorperating more accurate fire and a chainsaw bayonet; the new Lancer largely replaced its predecessor by the Locust War's second year. Fifteen years later, after the Sinking of Jacinto, the original Lancer returned back into the hands of soldiers now dubbed the "Retro Lancer". Savage Locust also began scavenging any resource available, including Retro Lancers, which became a staple weapon among their more common warriors while others became the Savage Locust's improvised turrets. Attachments Although the Retro Lancer needed few attachments to be effective, two attachments existed. The most crucial and perhaps the only needed, attachment to the Retro Lancer was the blade-bayonet. As the predecessor to the Chainsaw Bayonet, the blade-bayonet was significantly weaker in comparison to its counterpart's motorized chainsaw. But with enough brute force behind a charge, a Retro Lancer user could easily kill an opponent, human or Locust. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PViH3xQFCxY 6:40-6:55 Another attachment was known as the "Gut-Puncher" grenade launcher, which was used to fire individual grenades at a variable distance. The most notable usage of this attachment was during the Battle of Aspho Fields. Behind the Scenes *Cliff commented that he brought the original Lancer into Gears of War 3 because of popular demand. *At certain Gamestops, it was possible to see a scale version of the Retro Lancer. *In Gears of War 2, the Retro Lancer made a cameo appearance during the opening cutscene of the game. In the scene where Queen Myrrah summarizes the last one-hundred years on Sera, Pendulum War soldiers using Retro Lancers appeared. *The Retro Lancer's Bayonet Charge is the only instant kill move in the game other then the original Lancer. *In Gears of War 3 Beta, players could unlock a golden weapon skin for the Retro Lancer after playing ninety matches. Killing 100 enemies in the Beta with it would unlock it in the full game. *In Gears of War 3, the Retro Lancer is cosmetically different than the one shown in the images above. It sports a different knife bayonet, being more straight rather than jagged, and has a slit running down the top of the knife. The generic shape of the weapon has also been refined more, being a more curved design than earlier iterations of the weapon. The barrel is also quite short in game to make it more suitable towards bayonet charges (a longer barrell as seen above could potentially get stuck inside an opponent, making it more difficult to remove after impaling someone). The back of the gun also features new detailing including worn caution striping as opposed to the metal bars sticking out on the above images. The original Retro Lancer however can still be seen in game as part of the traps used by 'Ashman' in Char and by the NPC Stranded characters in Griffin's Stranded Camp. The old design is also present on the 'weapon shelves' seen in Mercy. References